


Strangers in Paradise

by orphan_account



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Coming of Age, First Kiss, High School, M/M, Soulmates, amateur photographer minho, both boys are so done with their parents like same, but they don't know yet of course, han jisung has blue hair if you don't read you'll be missing a lot ✌️, jk mom i luv u, slightly depressed jisung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25889101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "he only said great things, i promise. and i agree, you're very talented. that's what you want to do in new york city, right?" minho nodded. he was getting closer. jisung reached for the camera. "what should i do with it, then?" they were breathing from the same warmth. minho had a small, pink pimple on his right cheek. a fading scar close to his left eyelid. his lips were red and juicy like peaches. "show me your world, jisung. i want to see it too."[omg, the tags i'm so so sorry about it i-  _(:Ⅰ」∠)_]
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Past Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	Strangers in Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> do you guys remember i am number four (2011) lmao
> 
> we have moodboards yay!!
> 
> [jisungie](https://64.media.tumblr.com/7bdd9f3410698ef408d84011cfddf760/bd96c8182cc65d8f-73/s500x750/04341392d957e16c74f977871d5eb4f63aa29fa5.png)
> 
> [minho i love u boo](https://64.media.tumblr.com/885b30942b6a9767a044b8f6c8598d3a/bd96c8182cc65d8f-d8/s500x750/fe0baf7a8b2f3b005f0ff7e9eaed670ae2f08265.png)

[Back in the city](https://youtu.be/7w6R4I7I3wA)

[I'm just another girl in a sweater](https://youtu.be/7w6R4I7I3wA)

jisung is moving again.

he stopped counting by the fifth time or so and he enjoys the new house - more than he was expecting actually - so it's not a big problem.

his new house is white, completely wooden, and when he looks outside his bedroom all jisung can see is the woods.

so he likes it, the complete silence really different from the beach house they lived before. he likes it a lot.

jisung's dad is a calm man. they follow a simple life. jisung cooks breakfast and goes to school, comes back everyday after sixth period (his father doesn't complain if he arrives a little bit late sometimes).

he's an author, han sunbae. people in far away countries are crazy for his books. so they make money like that, selling romantic stories with bittersweet ends.

it does sell a lot. people are crazy for his dad's realistic approach on mundane subjects, as depression and age.

people like it so much because that's how they feel. it is like is their story (when it isn't).

jisung googles the books sometimes. it's easy to find the links to youtubers making commentary videos over han sunbae's newest portrait of agricultural capitalistic system, or whatever.

jisung couldn't care less. if it puts food in the table, it's more than enough for him and his dad.

his mother? she moved away when jisung was seven, but they don't talk about it a lot. 

once - because it was summer and a big storm took down the power of half san francisco's neighborhood - jisung found himself without any other options but lay down on his bed and open one of his dad's books.

that was the thing about han sunbae's books, jisung would never read them.

maybe because his father was actually writing about his private life for the rest of the world to read. his sad youth; how there was this tall, quirky man in 'the sun and the midnight' who lived alone. actually no, xiao (that was the character's name) had his son's company, a kid with two or three friends, no more than that, who was a small mess and listened to a bunch of music locked inside his bedroom throughout the. summer

cool kid. hits home too closely.

xiao and his kid were extremely sad, the only female presence in their lives long gone right after jisung turned seven - his father hadn't even changed his name. jisung hated 'the sun and the midnight' since then.

the stupid book was sold out in four days. who the fuck was named xiao and why people loved him so much? jisung remembered his father buying them a better computer, a flat screen, and a two doors refrigerator with the sells' money. 

jisung thought about changing his own name for a while (which had been stupid. there were plenty of jisung's in the world. people would never know it was him).

until they took a trip to tokyo to promote the book and fucking japanese people loved it. called his dad the next murakami, whoever that was.

he kissed a girl for the first time in kyoto, their next stop. she had short green hair and wore round glasses.

they had just moved to ohio. that meant han sunbae was starting to plot his next successful novel. jisung didn't mind it. it was part of their routine already. his father would excuse himself to his office, write until it was late enough for dinner - not everyday though, as he was a slow typer. 'han sunbae is what we call a gardner writer', somebody on the new york times wrote about him once.

jisung goes to school, comes back, prepares the food.

he's thinking about getting a dog this time - his golden fish died when they still were in colorado, too much salt in the air maybe.

"what's this?" jisung's father asked once when they were having dinner. salad and chicken because jisung wasn't a professional cooker. still, it tasted very good, his father would make sure to remind him.

"what?" jisung asked back.

"in your head."

"i'm dying it."

"why? your hair is pretty."

jisung just shrugged. his hair was the exact color as his mom's. "i don't know. i was just tired of this color, i think."

"it doesn't hurt?" mr. han asked.

jisung had dye all over his hair. 'twenty minutes until you can wash it off', it was written on the box.

jisung smiled. "no, it doesn't hurt, dad."

"do you want any help with the rest?"

"sure, why not."

and that's the really brief summary of how han jisung's hair turned blue in ohio, this sad sad place.

☾

"you sure you won't need a ride back?"

"no, christopher," lips touched minho's cheek. "i have some stuff to do. but, thank you."

"alright. text me when you're free, ok?"

minho wouldn't be free so soon, not for real. christopher was just a small rock in the large, dirty shoe that was minho's school life.

he was counting the days to move; to new york, to the stars, it didn't matter where. minho only wanted to be where were real love was happening. dance, music, his photography - the thing minho has been the proudest since age of ten, an orange plastic camera in his hands, the plastic toy as light as a small ball, the only view, if you got your eyes in the lense, a small farm with chickens and a red barn. it was his naive art form - the art of happiness, perhaps.

minho couldn't wait to have these feelings burning on his chest once again.

but not before he was about to be spelled out of high school.

they called him on the director's office - again. it was the third time only that month.

someone took a picture of a teacher checking a student's ass and posted it online. it spread real quick.

of course it had been minho, nobody ever spoke the truth in that hypocritical town.

the director had a picture of two girls eating caramel apples on top of his desk - his daughters. minho didn't understand why he was the only one guilty. what if it had been one of his daughters and their pervert science teacher? would the principal do nothing about it, too?

"you are better than this minho," the same man, with black skin and no hair on top of his head, told him. "do you know you can ruin your future with this stuff?" he held the same picture - but printed larger - in front of minho. "ruin college, minho."

"i don't care," minho replied.

"yes, you do. you're one of our best students, minho. it's your last year. it will all be over soon, so try to enjoy it with your friends and not playing spies." 

minho only nodded. he had been trying to fight those people for years, but he was losing to them.

"i will delete it," he won't. "just... can i go principal smith?"

"yes, and stay out of trouble. your future is bright, kid."

yes, big deal. if minho's future wasn't him taking pictures, living in such a big city that no one knew his name, who were his parents, what were his past mistakes, he wasn't interested on the so bright prospect of it.

minho grabbed his things, only a heavy bag he carried around (he had to mingle his paper film and all his books and notepads inside of it, so it could be real messy sometimes. minho tried to clean up more often.

"can i have it back?" he asked then. the principal had confiscated his camera in case minho wanted to be a funny guy again. "it's kind of expensive."

"yes, but just for class."

photography classes. most students didn't care about them. they were always minho's favorite. he gave his best in every homework mrs. candace had for them not to fail. 

she let him use the dark room during ofg hours too. even gave him an spare key weeks ago. but nobody could know that but them so minho needed to be very careful. he smiled a little bit, completely fake. asshole. "yes, just for class." minho repeated.

"minho, darling," it was the secretary, as soon he was out the principal's office. she had fluffy hair and collected pet figures. "do you mind showing jisung here his new locker?" she then whispered, "he's new."

jisung, the new kid, looked _blue_. in every possible way, if you asked minho. he didn't seem much excited to be there - but, who would really - and his eyes weren't very bright. he wore simple clothes, farm boy clothes. checkered clothes and dirty sneakers. even so, he was cute. with his really long nose and his blue, _very blue_ hair. blue, that's what minho would tell people if they asked who jisung, the new kid, was. he's blue, minho would reply. jisung grabbed his plain backpack, still empty of books, and rised from the small chair he sat.

"fine," minho reminds saying. "nice to meet you."

"nice to meet you too."

they didn't handshake. but just because minho's hands were busy with his camera. jisung looked at it and said nothing. he didn't look like he'd say a lot throughout the year anyways. it was refreshing somehow. everybody had a thing or two to say about each other in that place. they walked to jisung's locker, 107 - minho's was 132, close enough they'd bump into each other sometimes - slowly. 

"were you in trouble inside?" jisung asked. he had been looking then. minho smiled.

"nothing that i can't deal with," he replied proudly.

"that's a cool camera that you have."

"thanks," minho flipped it. it was all alright with the lenses - principal smith kept it for two days inside a messy box above his desk. "it was a gift," from christopher. "i see better through it. that's your locker, jisung."

they stopped. well, minho did. jisung looked like he wanted to keep moving, _talking_ with him. that was him but minho had better things to do, like checking on the dark room. he hadn't been there for two days, and that was making him anxious. 

"oh, thank you… minho, right?"

"yes."

"right. see you around then?"

"yes, i guess. i'm in the end of the hall. 132, if you get lost."

jisung shook his head. he smiled. the school was particularly small, there was a minimal change of someone getting lost for real. still, he was a newbie, minho was just being polite - he wanted to see jisung smile again. take a few pictures of his frizzy hair, the blue blue blue of it. his smile was handsome, a bit crooked to the side, but minho liked it. portray it would be easy. jisung was beautiful. "thank you," jisung said. "132 then."

☼

  
"could you pass me the salad?"

"uh."

"it's all really good."

"uh."

"jisung. son, are you alright?"

"uh…" oh, right. jisung was being nonsensical. his father wanted what? the salad? right. he handed it to him, his sloppy fingers almost dropping it. "yeah," jisung coughed. "i'm fine, totally. i think it's just a cold."

"right. want to see a doctor?" mr. han asked. 

"no, dad. i'm fine, for real. is just really cold in here."

"oh, right. i can buy a heater tomorrow. for your bedroom too," he tried the salad. "it tastes really good," he said, for the third time.

"thank you."

"so, how was school? any news?"

"i don't think so."

"do you think you'll keep track, with the rest of the class, i mean. it's your last year."

"i'll be fine. the classes are not that hard," jisung tried the salad too. it wasn't bad. the chicken was good too. "i think i can do it."

"tell me if it gets hard, alright? we can pay a private teacher again."

jisung nodded. "sure," he said. "i think i'll get out? see how's the town at night? do you mind if i get the car."

"it's fine. don't drink and drive." 

"i won't," jisung promised. "i will drive around. see how things work in here, just that."

"good, then. you buy the heater then. it's too cold in here."

the town was beautiful and full of light at night. jisung wasn't expecting how full the streets were too. whole families, with kids and their pets, all enjoying the cozy and cold night together. there was a park and some kids seemed to be singing in there too, a small choral of bright young souls. a boy took pictures of them, and he seemed genuinely happy to be there. minho smiled open wild, he waved to a little boy in the choral, who waved and smiled back at him. they all wore winter clothes because the temperature wouldn't stop dropping. still, it was great to hear the kids, many of them singing and waving back to their proud parents.

minho looked back at jisung - he had been staring, _fuck_ , his delicate lines shining. his eyebrows sttiffened, metting in the middle of his face. what are you doing here, minho had it written over his face. then he stopped thinking, and smiled at jisung. one of the prettiest one's jisung had ever seen - losing only to his mother's own smile; jisung saw it on the pictures she'd send him by email every other holiday, minho's would be his only one, they were both just too young to understand.

"hey, nice to see you here." minho said, his throat warmed by a scarf. "same thing," jisung replied.

"aren't they cute? parents pay me to take the pictures," minho explained. he seemed happier talking about it. photography was his passion, jisung was pretty sure of it because minho's smile wouldn't stop shining.

"yes," he wasn't looking at the kids when minho placed the camera in front of his eyes again and snapped another photo. "it's very cute."

you see, minho wasn't dumb. actually, seungmin, this guy jisung became friends with because they both sat close in school, told him minho was one of their smartest students. everyone seemed to know who he was, talked about him, but they never approached. according to seungmin, minho had this thick wall between him and the rest of the world. it hadn't been always like that. christopher bang, the school's most popular jock, had something to do with it. he and minho didn't end a two years relationship in good terms, that's what it seemed. "are you hitting on me, jisung?" minho asked, a light smile painting his lips. jisung thought he looked the most pretty like that, truly happy.

"yes. maybe. yes," jisung said because how could he lie to him?

"cute." minho snapped a photo of jisung. "who are you, blue boy?"

"no one special," jisung didn't lie this time.

"hum, are you sure? you look really special to me. your hair choices seem very eccentric."

"nah. it was just… i just wanted a change."

"well," minho dropped the camera in his delicate hands. he bit his bottom lip. "it fits you."

i want to kiss him, jisung never thought about it with another person. not for real. he liked boys too, knew who he was since he started kissing them in middle school. his own father brought a guy home once, when they lived in california. he was tall, tanned and looked like he could be a college professor. talked about friedrich nietzsche a lot and drank all the white wine they had during dinner. he didn't go home after they ate, and his father asked if jisung could maybe sleep on a friend's house that night. they never talked about it again, so jisung didn't bother to tell his father about his preferences too. it was easy between them - han sunbae could write about it in one of his books.

"are you hungry?" minho asked. he smelled like white chocolate, it was probably his shampoo. jisung had just ate dinner, but he could never say no to his first love. 

✰

minho doesn't know why he did it, but he just did. his family was weird and his brother always spoke with his mouth full, still, he brought jisung home with him for dinner - his mother made a lasagna, and it looked really good actually. jisung was the first one… the first one after christopher. but he wasn't like him at all. christopher had been like the sun. he shined and was so warm, more than anyone else. he was the biggest star in minho's galaxy. he was loud and when he laughed his whole body moved with it. minho's parents had loved christopher. he was cocky, but just the enough not to be impolite. his future was written for him since he was fifteen and started to shine more than the other kids during football games. he was the cool gay guy who actually looked very straight, knew how to act in front of straight people and make them happy. _please_ them. christopher had been everything minho had for a while.

he became a shadow by his side. things didn't end up in good terms between them.

jisung was everything christopher never was. he was quiet, not shy, just very quiet. his shoulders weren't broad so he didn't take much space, he was good with mingling. not been seen - _remembered_. his clothes were larger than they probably needed to be and his fashion sense screamed 'poor kid' - he could be dressing something that once belonged to one of his older brothers. his hair, it was very singular. the blue on his roots were starting to fade. jisung intrigued minho. if christopher was the sun, jisung was the moon, and he didn't mind at all to be just another satellite.

"no cellphones in the table, dear. that's a rule."

"mom…" minho shook his head. jisung looked uncomfortable.

"i am so sorry," he said. "my father was texting me. he's asking if i'll be late," and it sounded too much like a question. minho liked it. he bit his bottom lip and nodded. it would be nobody but them, later. they were sitting too close. minho smiled then mouthed another piece of his delicious food. jisung texted his father back, a short yes. "i'm sorry, mrs. lee."

"oh, dear," she said. "karen is just fine." it wasn't. minho's mom was conservative - being gay was a big problem sometimes - so just karen wasn't fine, it was a test.

"the food is delicious, honey." his father added. he worked for a construction company. it paid really well but he wasn't happy, not completely.

"mom, i want more!"

"you have to eat what's in your plate first, dear," she whispered to minho's young brother, jisuk. "it's impolite if you don't."

"but i want more!" the kid whined.

"so, jisung right?" mr. lee asked. "is your family from here? i don't think we've ever met your parents."

"jisung is new," minho replied, smiling at the blue haired boy. "this is his first week at the school too."

"oh, really? what do your parents do?"

"my father is a writer, sir." jisung told to the whole family. his plate was half empty - he was full since he and his dad already ate earlier, even so, mrs. lee cooking was really good, way better than his. "and my mom, hum. i don't really know. she doesn't live with us anymore. she left when i was seven. my dad and i, we just moved from colorado. he's working on a new book right now."

oh, minho didn't know any of that. jisung's deep eyes hid so much…

"where's your mother? is she dead?" it was jisuk who asked after a short silence.

"jisuk!" mrs. lee scolded the boy, cutting him another piece of lasagna so his mouth would be full. minho looked at jisung.

_you don't have to answer if you don't want to._

mr. lee coughed, looking mad at his boy too. "sorry jisung," he said. "say you're sorry too, lee jisuk."  


"i was just asking…" the little boy pouted but later apologized. 

"jisung, are you going to college too? our minho wants to move to new york even though i'm sure he'd look beautiful on an harvard's sweatshirt."

"i'm not sure, mrs. lee." jisung said, politely. minho didn't know how he could be so calm. he loved his family but they could be too much sometimes. he had to beg them so he could go to new york, beg them so he could follow his dreams. that wasn't exactly some great parenting. his father wanted him to stay and keep up with his business, as his mom, she was sure he'd be the happiest following the dreams that were hers once - until she got pregnant of her first baby, of minho. she had to drop college and marry soon, or her parents wouldn't support her too. "i'm thinking about taking a gap year. traveling a little bit on my own."

it seemed like a good plan. minho could see jisung accomplishing it as soon as school was done. but, of course, all his mother had to say was, "oh. i see…"

"what about school then? don't you think college is important?" the father asked.

"with all respect, sir. i don't think college is everything. my grades are just average, really. and i have to take care of my father. he's all i have."

nothing more was said. jisung excused himself, he need to go to the toilet.

"i like him," jisuk cut the silence. "mom, can i have another piece, please?"

_i like him too, jisuk-ah._

and minho's parents weren't very happy about it - jisung wasn't christopher - at all, but he couldn't care less. jisung was a satellite, so he had light too - he reflected it, and it was beautiful to watch.

💙

"i don't think your parents like me." jisung whispered while they rested on minho's bed. the door locked.

"it's fine. they don't like no one but themselves."

"it's not true," jisung turned on the bed. minho's eyes were dark brown, he'd never forget about them. they were looking at him from close. it was odd, how much they seemed right together. "they love you and your brother."

"it's true," minho whispered. "but they don't know who the real me is. so no, they don't like me too. not completely."

_who's the real you? i want to see it too. so bad._

"i like you," jisung was looking to the ceiling. younger minho had put fluorescent stickers over it, a whole constellation of them. jisung was watching saturn spin around jupiter. 

"i like you too," minho smiled. god, he was so handsome. his pale skin turned yellow in the bedroom's night lights. "i don't know why. you're such a weirdo. gap year, really? what you're going to do during it?"

jisung shrugged. "i have no idea." then they laughed and it felt so warm.

"i have something for you." minho raised from his bed and walked towards a cabinet near a window. "here."

"what's that for?" it was a camera. minho was giving him one of his cameras. "i can't take pictures like you."

"what makes you think so? anyways, you haven't seen my photos yet… what? you did? how?"

"strangers in paradise," jisung told him. "it's your website, isn't it? it's beautiful, minho."

minho didn't seem glad. "who told you about it?" he asked, his voice changing - it hurt him.

"no one. a friend. seungmin. he told me you were really talented and shared the link for your website. that's it, i swear."

_i'm sorry. i don't want to hurt you._

minho sighed.

"it's fine," he said. "it's just, those pictures are my whole life. and people can talk shit sometimes."

"he only said great things, i promise. and i agree, you're very talented. that's what you want to do in new york city, right?" minho nodded. he was getting closer. jisung reached for the camera. "what should i do with it, then?" they were breathing from the same warmth. minho had a small, pink pimple on his right cheek. a fading scar close to his left eyelid. his lips were red and juicy like peaches. "show me your world, jisung. i want to see it too."

when they kissed for the first time, it tasted like cheese and tomatoes and it was bad - _it was perfect_. it rained outside, just the enough to make the floor smell good. they were on a bed but any of them tried to go further than a few kisses here or there - on the lips, on the cheeks, around the neck. minho whimpers were so beautifully small. he was the one to ask for more space too, his tongue making jisung moan back. their legs tangled easily, like they've done it a thousand times before. in other lives - and maybe they did, because it all felt so right. "jisung, what's this?" minho asked, his eyes a bit emotional.

"i don't know, minho. but i'm going to kiss you again, okay?"

minho nodded. the tips of their noses touched and minho smiled bright. he kissed jisung, accepting his light touches again. slowly, the rain started falling inside their hearts too. if jisung was the moon, minho was his stars - they weren't alone in such immense galaxy.

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhhh i was going to write a part 2 and 3 but i'm too lazy. part 2 would be in a lake with some sexy shenanigans lol and part 3 would have a lot of angst. also, red haired and shrek jisung would be A THING. this story is just a bunch of ideas i have really.  
> for me, what happens next is that high school is over and jisung starts writing just like his dad (because you know, one becomes what one hates the most, eventually) and minho becomes a photographer like he always wanted to do. they move to new york city and have three children, their cats.  
> they eventually fight and break up. it's all very depressing so jisung starts to write his first book to cope. and wow!!! what a shocker really. it's all about minho's beautiful brown eyes and how sung won't ever stop loving him.  
> he doesn't want to be all #sad_vibes like his old man forever, so jisung returns to nyc (after crashing on a lot of couches - 3racha's included. finally on his father's couch, of fucking course). he asks minho to marry him and that's it. a baby happens later. then another... and another...... until they become 6 and uh, it's beautiful.
> 
> if enough people ask i can write it on my twitter. so please ask...:p


End file.
